The Cisco ūmi Telepresence Present: Combining Real High Tech With Virtual High Touch

by Susan Kime (RSS feed)
Nov 23rd 2010 at 9:02AM

2010 has been a big year for Cisco, a major supplier of voice and unified communications systems for business, Cisco recently introduced Cisco ūmi ( pronouced you-me) Telepresence, a consumer product now available to demo and purchase in all BestBuy/ Magnolia Home Theater stores across the country.

For those of us who have used various other video chat formats to keep in contact with our families, we know the problems involved. Sometimes the connection is lost, or family members have odd coloration, or sometimes they are deeply blurred. These things cause enormous frustration, instead of happiness at seeing and communicating with children and grandchildren who live far away.

But Cisco ūmi Telepresence is the first product of its kind that helps with these problems, as it connects to an existing HD television and a broadband internet connection, to create a virtual, high touch-immersive video experience. Telepresence umi is the consumer component of a network of business collaboration techonolgies Cisco has introduced throughout 2009-2010. Their Telepresence for business has been enormously successful, as it enhances all aspects of high definition business video conferencing. It was an understandable next step, then, for Cisco to create a more intimate kind of video conferencing and human interaction: no CEOs or CFOs, but rather with families, children, and grandchildren. A similar technology, a different demographic.

The Cisco ūmi Telepresence system includes an HD camera, a console and a remote, and can automatically adjust to lighting conditions and room sizes. Once Cisco ūmi is connected to an HD television and a wired or wireless broadband connection, a remote control provides access to an on-screen user interface, through which users can make ūmi calls, access video messages, manage contacts, and customize their profile and settings. Users can also record their own ūmi videos, which they can share on Facebook™, on YouTube™, or via email. Users can even keep in touch with people who don't have ūmi by placing and receiving video calls from any computer with a webcam and Google video chat.

"Cisco is bringing people together, driving new video experiences that change the way we communicate, connect, and enjoy entertainment – in the home, at work, and on the go," said John Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco. "Cisco ūmi will bring the unique Telepresence experience into living rooms and change the way we are able to be together with family and friends. We envision a future where technologies like this will play a role in connecting consumers with businesses to enable the delivery of new services, ranging from education, to health care, to financial services – to the home."

"It is also is the ultimate way to capture the simple joys of being together with our distant friends and loved ones, whether they are around the corner or across the country," said Marthin De Beer, senior vice president of Cisco's emerging technologies business group. "From singing happy birthday every year to reading bedtime stories every night, ūmi lets friends and families experience life's special moments together."

Cisco ūmi has been available to consumers since November 14 in Best Buy/Magnolia Home Theater stores, bestbuy.com and umi.cisco.com for the suggested retail price of $599 with a monthly fee of $24.99 for unlimited ūmi calls, video messaging and video storage.

Tags: Best Buy, Cisco Systems, Cisco Systems Emerging Technologies, Cisco umi, Cisco umi Telepresence, interactive video conferencing systems, Magnolia Home Theater Stores, Telepresence